EXPLORE KIAWAH
Have a Kiawah Adventure With Tidal Trails
Dolphins playing and feeding are a common sight in Kiawah’s waterways.
Kiawah has so many special places, from the
far reaches of the beach on the eastern end
of the island to the expanses of marsh that
carpet the island’s borders in green. Yet it’s
the water that keeps our attention. In 1925,
when DuBose Heyward published Porgy,
he wrote of the beach on his fictionalized
version of the island, named Kittiwar. “From
the adjacent beach came the steady, cool
thunder of the sea and the unremitting hum
of sand, as tireless winds scooped it from the
dunes and sent it in low, flat-blown layers
across the hard floor of the beach.”
group paddles and more. Tidal Trails has been
offering guided nature tours, instruction and
customized tours in the area since 1997. Tidal
Trails owner, Captain Duane Lapp, became
a licensed United States Coast Guard Master
Captain 20 years ago in Hilton Head. When
he decided to retire and move to Charleston
to be closer to his son and grandson, he soon
began looking for a watersports business
to buy after getting bored with retirement.
Captain Lapp says, “I never get tired of being
on the water!”
Reading that quote today, you can hear the
waves in your mind and feel the waterhardened
sand underfoot. The characters
in Heyward’s book came by boat from
Charleston and it’s still one of the best ways
to experience Kiawah Island. With sea spray
and shorebird song in the air, an adventure is
waiting in the inlets, creeks and rivers if you
know where to look.
Fortunately for members, expert guidance
is near at hand through KICA’s partnership
with Tidal Trails, which offers tours of the
waterways through custom boats tours, small
Tubing is one of the many fun and
family-friendly activities you can try.
8 | KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST